Fundraising Fox

Espresa

Palo Alto, US · Founded 2015 · Delaware corporation · 120 employees on LinkedIn · 7 known investors

Find your way into Espresa

524 people in our graph share verified history with the Espresa team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Scott Jacobsonunlockedknows Alex Shubat · together at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (overlapped)
×2knows the team · via Stanford University Graduate School of Business
×2knows the team · via Santa Clara University
×2knows the team · via University of Toronto
knows the team · via Band of Angels
×4knows the team · via The University of Kansas

Espresa provides an employee engagement and benefits platform designed to help companies deliver personalized employee experience programs across languages, time zones, and currencies. The platform integrates total wellbeing, recognition, and community features to strengthen employee loyalty and engagement.

Founders & leadership

Espresa was founded in 2015 by Alex Shubat and Raghavan Menon.

ASAlex Shubat
Alex ShubatinCEO & Co-FounderPreviously, he served as CEO of Goji Food Solutions, a food tech company backed by NEA, and founded Virage Logic in 1996, leading it as president and CEO until its acquisition by Synopsys in 2010. He holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University, a Ph.D. from Santa Clara University, and B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Toronto.
RMRaghavan Menon
Raghavan MenoninCTO & Co-FounderHe previously founded two startups that reached customer traction and were acquired.

Board

CRChristopher Rust
Christopher Rustin𝕏Seed investor, Board MemberCo-Founder and Partner at Clear Ventures
AGAdoram Gaash
Adoram GaashinInvestorFounder, Managing Partner at Moneta VC
MSMichael Stark
Michael StarkinBoard MemberGeneral Partner at Crosslink Bayview
GAGideon Argov
Gideon ArgovinDirectorFounder at New Era Capital Partners

Investors · 7

Reported raises · per SEC filings

Form D private placements

$32.6M disclosed across 5 rounds · 2016–2025

$5MraisedMay 2025 · 11 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Raghavan MenonExecutive Officer, Director
  • Christopher J. RustDirector
  • Adoram GaashDirector
  • Gideon ArgovDirector
  • Michael StarkDirector
  • Alex ShubatExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$5M
Amount sold
$5M
First sale
Apr 2025
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
$16.3MraisedAug 2023 · 24 investors · Other Technology
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Adoram GaashDirector
  • Michael StarkDirector
  • Christopher J. RustDirector
  • Alex ShubatExecutive Officer, Director
  • Raghavan MenonExecutive Officer
  • Gideon ArgovDirector
Offering amount
$17.3M
Amount sold
$16.3M
First sale
Aug 2023
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
$6.5MraisedMay 2019 · 14 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Christopher RustDirector
  • Adoram GaashDirector
  • Michael StarkDirector
  • Alex ShubatExecutive Officer, Director
  • Gideon ArgovDirector
Offering amount
$8.1M
Amount sold
$6.5M
First sale
May 2019
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2015
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
$500KraisedOct 2017 · 7 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Christopher RustDirector
  • Adoram GaashDirector
  • Michael StarkDirector
  • Alex ShubatExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$1M
Amount sold
$500K
First sale
Sep 2017
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2015
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
$4.3MraisedOct 2016 · 28 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Alex ShubatExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$5.7M
Amount sold
$4.3M
First sale
Sep 2016
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2015
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Competitors · 10

by search overlap
Shrm381 shared keywordsSHRM, a human resources professional organization with influence over 362 million workers worldwide, provides guidance on managing workplace civility and conflict through executive thought leadership and strategic resources for organizations.
Work Human354 shared keywordsWorkHuman provides a team recognition and rewards platform that enables organizations to celebrate and recognize teams for their workplace accomplishments. The platform integrates social recognition with redemption options for products and experiences from major brands.
Oyster342 shared keywordsOyster is an employer of record (EOR) platform that lets companies hire, pay, and manage full-time employees and contractors in over 180 countries without setting up local entities, handling compliant onboarding, contracts, payroll, and benefits. It pairs an automated platform with in-house HR experts and integrates with HRIS, ATS, and accounting systems, serving globally distributed teams.
Wellhub336 shared keywordsWellhub operates a corporate wellness platform that connects employees to fitness, mindfulness, nutrition, and sleep options through employer-provided plans. It serves companies looking to offer holistic wellbeing programs to their workforce across multiple countries.
Compt322 shared keywordsCompt is a software platform for managing personalized lifestyle spending accounts (LSAs) and employee benefits, including wellness stipends, rewards and recognition, business expense reimbursements, and a company swag store. It serves companies and their HR teams, supporting a global workforce in over 75 countries.
Achievers303 shared keywordsAchievers Intelligence is an AI-powered platform that drives organizational change by connecting employee recognition to behavioral insights and making new ways of working visible and repeatable within existing workflows. It serves enterprise organizations seeking to improve employee engagement, adoption of transformation initiatives, and sustained behavior change.
Forma266 shared keywordsForma provides flexible employee benefits platforms designed for distributed and diverse workforces. The company enables organizations to replace standardized benefit packages with personalized options tailored to individual employee needs.
Benepass254 shared keywordsBenepass provides flexible benefits platforms that enable employers to offer personalized, choice-based employee benefits aligned with company values and DEI initiatives. The platform helps companies strengthen employer branding and support employee wellness across diverse workforce needs.
Advantage Club240 shared keywordsAdvantageClub.ai operates an employee engagement and rewards platform that provides corporates with client and employee benefits, perks, and rewards through a network of brand partners. It serves enterprises looking to manage employee experience, wellness, and engagement while enabling brands to reach targeted customer segments.
Wellable226 shared keywordsWellable offers a personal wellness assessment tool that evaluates employee well-being across eight dimensions—physical, emotional, financial, social, intellectual, occupational, environmental, and spiritual. The platform provides personalized recommendations to employees and aggregated insights to employers for designing targeted wellness programs.

Companies competing with Espresa for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

In the news

Frequently asked questions

What does Espresa do?
Espresa provides an employee engagement and benefits platform designed to help companies deliver personalized employee experience programs across languages, time zones, and currencies. The platform integrates total wellbeing, recognition, and community features to strengthen employee loyalty and engagement.
Who founded Espresa?
Espresa was founded by Alex Shubat, Raghavan Menon in 2015.
Who are Espresa's investors?
Espresa's investors include Clear Ventures, Crosslink Capital, Moneta VC, New Era Capital Partners, Ridge Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Gradient Ventures.
How much funding has Espresa raised?
Espresa has disclosed $32.6M raised across 5 rounds.
Where is Espresa headquartered?
Espresa is headquartered in Palo Alto, US.